Mrs. Amruta Fadnavis Inaugurated Asian Women in Leadership Summit 2018

A Remarkable Event that Witnessed Distinguished & Eminent Panellists from Corporate Asia Discuss Board Diversity and Gender Parity in India Inc.

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai November 15, 2018–The very first India session  of The Asian Women in Leadership Summit 2018. The issue was to understand how to accelerate change and hold a constructive dialogue on Board Diversity and Gender Parity amongst India Inc. Amruta Fadnavis wife of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnaviswas the Chief Guest at the event. One of the other high point of this summit was the participation ofTwitter Co-Founder and CEO Jack Dorseyin an exclusive Fireside Chat with Twitter Asia Pacific VP – Maya Hari.

The AWLS Summit 2018 focused on gender equality in senior management and the board. It discussed on how successful organizations should create an internal culture that fosters diversity and encourages & mentor women leaders for senior positions.  Various research reports that show how organizations with senior women leaders’ participation performed better were brought forth. Leading organizations were seeking greater gender parity in the board.  

Speaking on the event, Arvind Singh, Director AWLS/ Quest Conferences said, “It was a moment of pride for us to have Amruta Fadnavis as our Chief Guest on the Day. She has always been a proponent of women empowerment. We had some of the distinguished and eminent members of Corporate India and that of Asia and the US participate in the Summit to discuss how organizations can create a culture that encourages women to realize their fullest potential and play crucial role in senior management positions and indeed, the Board. 

While some progress has been made, a lot more needs to be done and hence, the need to accelerate the change. Gender parity in India is not only the right way to go but it will unleash  USD 700 Billion economic opportunity.  At the summit, organizations shared and learned some of the best practices being deployed to create a culture that promotes gender parity. Extensive discussions on what organizations are doing to bring qualified and talented  women back into the workforce, what needs to be done to ensure Women break the glass ceiling as frequently as mens and how organizations can get more men engaged and promote male advocacy to achieve gender parity were analysed by the panellists.

The AWLS 2018, Mumbai witnessed the support and backing of some the leading names in the industry, such as - Ernst & Young, INSEAD, Yourstory.com, UN Women, amongst others.

Some of the other eminent panellists at the Summit were:

Dr. Tapati Bandopadhyay, GM & Global Practice Head, Wipro HOLMES

Aashish Kasad, Tax Partner and India Region Diversity & Inclusiveness Leader, EY

 Kanika Tekriwal, CEO, JetSetGo Aviation

 Vandana Chopra, Head of Brand and Communications, KPMG

 Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Founder & President, AVTAR Group

Suparna Kapoor, Chief Manager, HAL Management Academy, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

 Vinika Rao, Executive Director, INSEAD EMI

 Murali Sivaraman, Chairman, Philips Lighting India Limited

Bhavani Balasubramanian, Partner & Diversity and Inclusion Leader, Deloitte

Jun Zhang, Country Head India, IFC

Vinita Gera, Sr. Director and General Manager, Dell EMC, India COE amongst others.

About AWLS – Mumbai 2018: The Annual Asian Women in Leadership Summit provides an interactive platform to exchange views and reflect upon the challenges faced by Asian women in achieving leadership roles and learn from their experiences to create a culture that promotes gender diversity in a sustainable way and leads to the greater success of women in the executive leadership and board level roles. It is a platform for like-minded professionals (women and men) who feel gender is an important organizational issue which impacts the profitability and the overall health of the institution and the society.